Le Lion Rouge
by InkAndJournal
Summary: When Lance Sanchez travels into the woods, he discovers a fantastical creature. That was thirty years ago... Now Lance McClain gets headaches from the new kid in his school who looks a lot like the boy in his dreams
1. Act 1 Part 1

A/N: Yea boissssssss lezzgo! I am definitely not going to be able to update all the fanfics in at the short possible time I am doing it right now for two reasons. One, there are so MaNy and two, SCHOOL STARTED. I'm now dedicating my study hall to writing unless I have exams or homework. Oh... Finals are coming up... Dammit. Also this is once again an AU of my own making! I don't know what to call it tho... Oh and there's an Act one and Act two. THE COVER ART IS MINE BY THE WAY. OKAY YEAH THANKS FOR READING ENJOY MY WRITING.

Oh and Lance is 19 right now, okay yeah bye

Also some OOC moments, okay now read

Lance scrambled over a log. The Forest of Dean wasn't supposed to be this big! If only he hadn't gotten caught up with sketching that flower! But now he was separated from the group and you'd expect that he'd know some survival tips in order to survive right? He unfortunately didn't possess the skill set, Hunk was the survival expert for goodness' sake! Lance sighed and sat down under a tree. He hoped the group didn't get that far ahead before realizing Lance wasn't there anymore. Opening his bag, he pulled out the box of saltine crackers. _Okay Lance, if Hunk was lost what would he do first?_ Lance thought about it as he munched on a cracker. He would make sure he had a clean source of water. Lance listened hard. After a few moments, mere seconds from giving up, he heard the giggle of a brook. Lance jumped up and laughed. Running toward the source of the sound, he heard the water clearer and clearer. He reached a clearing and gasped. It was beautiful, magnificent purple flowers dotting the grass, a stream running in between the roots of a sycamore tree, the trees lining the clearing. Lance whipped out his sketchbook and started sketching the landscape. Captivated by it, he didn't notice the huge cat slinking in the trees.

 _What is a mere human doing in my grove?_ Keith wondered. He was a cat with strength incomprehensible to humans, the human should be running away, head pounding with pain and fear by now. Keith leaned his head slightly to the side. He couldn't help but feel enchanted by the human. His tongue was sticking out, slightly to the side, as he sketched the clearing. His tanned skin reminded Keith of the drink Shiro called coffee. His hair reminded Keith of the trees, and his eyes... Keith nearly fell of the tree when the man lifted his gaze. Oceanic blue, with a touch of indigo. Warmth seeped into Keith's cheekfur. He was handsome.

But a love like this was forbidden. The humans were forbidden from knowing about the Alteans and the Lions. Shiro was an exception, part-human, part-magic, he was able to fit in, if oddly. Keith shook off his feelings and waited. Although secretive, the Alteans were diplomatic, they tried to maintain the peace, and Keith wasn't going to wreck that so he patiently waited for the man's pencil to stop moving. _This might be the last I'll ever see of him_ , thought Keith sadly, his gaze traveling over the man's face.

Lance finished the last stroke and smiled cheerily. He loved this field, he should come by more often now that he knew about it. He closed his book and raised his head, remembering why he was here in the first place.

"Crap." he muttered, grabbing his bag and sticking his sketchbook inside it. He frowned, stopping to think for a minute. Was that... Mateo's voice?

"Lance!" it called. Lance gasped and looked around the grove.

"Mateo?" he whispered.

"Lance!" called another voice, slightly more feminine.

"Pidge?" Lance was sure he heard the voice right behind that tree. Raising an eyebrow and looking to either side of him, he shrugged and walked out of the grove.

"Lance!" called Hunk's voice before they bumped into each other.

"Lance?" Hunk repeated, holding Lance out at arm length.

"Hey Hunk." Lance groaned, unable to rub his forehead because of Hunk's tight grip. Hunk pulled Lance into a tight hug.

"Lance! You're alive!" he laughed. Lance draped an arm across the man.

"Lance you stupid idiot! What were you thinking, running off like that?" Pidge yelled at him. Lance turned to her and frowned.

"Well you guys knew I was tagging along so I could sketch! Why didn't you wait up?"

"Well we also had an agenda which was made clear to you from the _beginning!_ "

"Well it's not my fault you got this job before you graduated!" Lance retorted. Pidge scowled and rubbed her forehead.

"Glad you're alive knucklehead." she muttered.

"Feeling's mutual."

"But she's right Lance, you should've been aware of your surroundings." Mateo said.

"As should've you." Lance groaned.

"Okay it's a mistake on all our parts! Where were you anyway?" Mateo raised an eyebrow.

"Right... Here?" Lance said, turning around and seeing nothing but trees. The group looked over Lance's shoulder, also confused.

"Uh, in a tree?" Pidge asked. Lance shook his head vigorously.

"No, there was an actual grove here!" Lance said, confused. He felt drawn to that place for some reason, but now the connection was weaker.

"I sketched the place, hang on." He pulled out his sketchbook and flipped to the page.

Or the page that was supposed to be there.

Instead, there was a blank page and Lance was in over his head.

"Uh... Okay?" Hunk said, questioning Lance's sanity no doubt. Pidge shook her head in disbelief while Mateo sighed. Lance raised his head to study the trees and caught the glimmer of a violet eye.

His name was Lance. Keith breathed in shallowly and waited for the human beings to pass. Were human beings always this loud? He'd forgotten in the year he had isolated himself. Why had the grove chosen Lance he wondered. There was nothing he possessed worth of value to the grove. Keith sighed and walked back to the sycamore tree and rested his head in his paws.

He wanted Lance to come back.


	2. Act 1 Part 2

A/N: I'm sorry. I should be writing something else. Or finalizing those designs for I Will Fight Till We See the Sunlight. Or composing a song. Or playing Neko Atsume.

Lance didn't sleep that night. He didn't want to. He kept thinking about that place in the forest. It continuously tugged at him, beckoning him. He groaned and rested his head in his hands. He didn't have work or school tomorrow, but he wanted to sleep. Gathering those samples had really drained him. _I have to try and sleep_ , Lance thought, forcing himself into the bed and forcing his eyes shut. After an hour or doing this, he groaned and threw the pillow across the room, earning a yell from his neighbor. _I really need to move out of these paper-thin walls_ , he thought getting out of bed and throwing on a dress shirt and a pair of dress pants. He couldn't remember the last time his sleep pills hadn't worked for his insomnia. Bu for the nights it didn't work, he took a walk.

 _How about we mix it up?_ He grinned. Running out the door with his bag and car keys, he went to where he parked his car and hopped in. Starting up the car and radio, he started driving to the Forest of Dean. The radio was playing "In God's Country" by U2 and Lance turned it up. _Been a while since they played U2,_ he thought, tapping his fingers to the beat of the song and humming along.

When he reached the forest, the tugging got even more intense and Lance nearly doubled over. Grabbing his bag, he locked his car and ran into the forest, following the feeling. After possibly ten minutes of running, he reached the grove again. The tugging had stopped, giving Lance's stomach a break. He bent over and desperately tried to inhale air. After nearly inhaling a firefly, he went into the grove and marveled at its beauty. It was even more beautiful at night then in daylight. Fireflies flitting amongst the purple flowers and the sycamore dimly lit, it was quite a sight. He sat down by the creek and ran his fingers in it. It was silky and seemed to waltz around his fingers. He giggled at the feeling and sighed happily. He loved it here, beautiful and quiet, it was so different from his home. Suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, he heard a purr. He snapped his head up, wiped his fingers on his pants, and looked for the source of the sound. When he found it, he was shocked. In the trees was a huge cat, no lion, did those even exist in England? And this lion was strange; its fur was a russet color, small white marking surrounding its muzzle and eyes, keen and bright violent, and large ears. And it was at least forty feet long minus the tail. One half of Lance felt scared while the other fifty percent of him felt attracted to the creature. It was beautiful.

"H-Hey there." he whispered as the ears flicked towards his direction. Lance took it as a good sign that the creature wasn't trying to eat him yet.

"I'm Lance Sanchez and I mean you no harm. I-I discovered this place this afternoon and I wanted to come back so I did." Lance babbled as the creature came down to the ground with a _thump_. His eyes twinkled merrily as if saying, _I know. I was waiting for you._ Lance felt his breath hitch as the cat came closer. The cat lied down, it's body surrounding Lance, and it purred. After freezing up for a few moments, he smiled and rested his hands in the creature's fur. It was soft, like really soft. It also smelled of these flowers and of charred wood. Lance settled down next to the creature and looked at the sky with it.

"So, is this your grove?" Lance asked. The cat let out a small grunt which Lance took meant yes.

"It's real pretty. But did you want to show only me?" The cat let out a small whine as if asking why Lance was asking him these questions. Lance laughed and placed his hand on the creature's nose.

"You still haven't answered my question." The creature looked to the side and grunted again. Lance laughed again and arranged himself into the grass again.

"Pidge, Hunk, and Mateo now think I'm crazy. But that's fine. As long as I can back." Lance said, falling asleep.

Keith blushed before setting his head down next to Lance's.

"Night Red." Keith heard Lance whisper. Keith purred in reply.

 _Please stay._


End file.
